Gratte-Ciel
by pozarpel
Summary: "Let Juvia accompany you," she'd requested, with steeled resolve and interlaced hands hanging in front of her dress. "Please."
1. Chapter 1

_Gray's hand lurched out and tore the assignment notice from the board, seconds before Natsu's grubby little fingers could. He took full advantage of their height disparity, holding the sheet high in the air as he stumbled out from the crowd teeming at the mission wall. He straightened the sheet out in his hands, satisfied, more so as Natsu bristled behind him—like it mattered; Gray had seen the job first. And there was also the pressing matter of upcoming rent dues, which he'd neglected to take care of for _reasons.

_The mission was called in by one of Fairy Tail's regular clients, one of those less corrupt merchant guilds to the southlands, situated deep in the forests a ways away from Magnolia. They found themselves beset by thieves and bandits on a bimonthly freaking basis, but the outlaws were always too easily shunted by one or two mages, a real curbstomping battle. It was a two-day mission tops, and best of all, it promised way more cash this time around than any other. A windfall, on Gray's part. He was rearing to kick some shoddy criminal ass, anyway. Solo-style._

_But then, Juvia._

* * *

"Juvia!" he shouted, and didn't have to say another word—she sent a whole goddamn wave of river water barreling towards his way, and it was too easy to freeze it whole as it swept up the bandits between them in its flow. He'd only gotten the chance to batter a few of them, bust up some trees. Maybe it could be considered a win for Fairy Tail, he supposed, to have gotten this far without lasting and costly property destruction. It sure as hell wasn't as satisfying, though.

From here, they just had to interrogate one of the unlucky bastards caught in the ice—hopefully before they succumbed to hypothermia—in order to locate the group's base of operations.

They'd probably fit some property damage in there, if the leader wouldn't come quietly. They typically did; bands of roaming criminals like this had zero ties, and zero magic with which to defend themselves from Fairy Tail mages. Gray surveyed his work as Juvia came trouncing to his side, dripping wet from splashing in the river.

"That was easy," Gray said, hands on his hips. So easy, in fact, that the urge to toss off his shirt hadn't even occurred to him once. Juvia smiled indulgently and searched their quarry of captives, numbered at about ten, for someone still sensible enough to filch information from. By her calculation, if she and Gray finished the job quickly enough, they could collect their reward and be walking back to Magnolia in time to watch a lovely sunset together.

She glanced heavenward, happy at the thought. The dark clouds were discouraging—she frowned, miffed by the possible loss of her nice plans—

And then she heard rustling. Juvia swerved on her heels, an inch ahead of Gray, as a loose thief ducked out of one of the bushes and started running for the hills, cape billowing behind him. He was fast, but Gray and Juvia were both thinking the same thing: He was just going to lead them back to the thieves' guild grounds.

Juvia glanced at Gray for confirmation, pleased when he nodded at her with a smile, and so it was that they gave chase to the last standing rogue, both of them having a splendid time of it. The course was uphill and steep, but that didn't seem to deter either of them.

It occurred to Juvia that Gray was actually racing with her, so she sped up. The thief was still in their sights, far enough away that he thought perhaps he could actually escape. That wasn't a possibility, though. Gray was pulling ahead, and Juvia could have laughed at the wonderful look on his face and let him win this silly game just so he'd keep it, and she thought about her lonely, dreary missions that were always all business, and she considered the idea of—maybe, finally—asking Gray to take their partnership to a solidity to match that of Natsu and Lucy's, because if they could do it, she and Gray certainly could, if he wouldn't mind, maybe, possibly, but if he actually said yes, oh, oh, _oh_, she'd just— she'd—

Gray fell. On his face. Hard.

Juvia skidded to a stop, regardless of their target making his getaway, and jerked down to look at him as he shuddered from the surprise impact. "What the hell," she heard him grind out, and she trailed down from his back to his knees to his ankle, which was gripped by a hand sticking out from the bush. Juvia remained calm, trying to figure that out, and in that split second she saw Gray freeze the hand holding him down. In that split second, she was also stabbed in the back.

She felt the familiar sensation of the blade driving through her, gliding through her, but never quite hitting, as no one could cut through water. She slipped a glare over her shoulder—_how dare this person disrupt her as she fretted for her loved one after such a nasty fall_—but she saw that their numbers had increased. She felt no disquiet over that; she merely twisted her body up and up and up, a small cyclone, and rammed into them like she always did.

They didn't see that coming. The looks on their faces when they watched her body become water were also familiar ones. Yes, Juvia was well aware that she was far outside the realm of normalcy, and in a slot reserved for the terrifying, cold and inhuman.

On a mission, she supposed she could fulfill all three of those requirements. Gray-sama expected her to—and far below her, he was flinging men left and right, breaking the ground with shoots of ice, slinging swords and lances. She could have settled for watching him for _hours_, he was so _cute_ when he was unleashing devastation on the lawless. He hadn't taken his clothes off yet, but…

Juvia turned her head, seeking out some hopeful proof that they hadn't been led to a pointless ambush but to the last defenses of a desperate thieves' guild. But at the end of the clearing, there was just a towering wall of rocks, crumbling and shaking slightly because of the ruckus Juvia could feel her partner making down there. She eyed the rocks, edging closer to it in her cyclone form, surprised when she saw two hooded figures emerge at the head of the rubble. The first was unmistakably the quick little runt that had surprised and outrun them.

The second pulled her hood down, and Juvia reverted to her normal form so as to catch Gray's attention. He looked up as she pointed—"Gray-sama! A woman!"

"I thought I told you it didn't matter if it was a man or a woman, Juvia, I'd still hand their asses to—"

The woman in question had been making a gesture of searching, hand situated at her forehead, and Juvia saw her eyes fall on her partner. "Yoo-hoo! Hello!" she called out, distant and loud and disarmingly friendly, which stumped both of the Fairy Tail mages a tad. She shook her hand a bit as she waved, some overplayed caricature of a courtly lady.

"You wouldn't happen to be Salamander, would you?"

Juvia watched Gray crack a scowl. She sighed—his joyous expression from beforehand had been so lovely, she wanted to frame it and hang it up in her room. Why'd this lady have to go and make him frown like that? She felt feelings of displeasure already. Her Gray-sama was worlds away from Natsu Dragneel.

"Do I look like a hotheaded destructive moron to you, huh?" Gray shouted back, stomping his foot into the dirt. The hooded woman, quizzical, peered down at the wreckage of his wake: shards of ice sticking up in unimaginable places, patches of muddied or frozen earth, felled trees and shredded brush, not to mention the multitude of bodies—beaten senseless, of course, not killed. Juvia felt a sense of pride at the sight, as if they'd already won.

"Well, Salamander has ridiculous pink hair!" he supplemented, as he had obviously not made his point.

"I see!" The woman turned to her companion at the top of the rocks, and Juvia heard Gray shift from foot to foot in annoyance. "What a waste of a plan," the woman said, when she'd turned back to them.

Juvia contracted her brow. "Plan?"

"My magic works better in high elevation! So I'm sorry, but I'll have to pay you back in full for all those horrid things you did!" Her words echoed in the clearing, in the wet air.

So it was a lure, after all. More disappointing was the fact that it wasn't entirely a band of magicless thieves, after all. Gray would have to be more careful, which she could see him register on his face, eyes narrowed and stance unmistakably defensive. Yes, right. They were Fairy Tail mages, and this would be no issue at all.

That moment of breezy confidence was shattered, though, just as soon as Gray's first ice shield exploded after instantaneous contact with a magic too fast to be seen as anything other than a flash. She didn't take the time to gawk. She felt urgency surge through her veins, even as her veins lost form and became water.

Juvia was already rising, amassing her element, climbing and climbing to choke this woman before she could hurt Gray, because if Gray could not protect himself, then surely, Juvia, Juvia could—

Water whirling as her feet, Juvia was three-quarters to the top when she heard him. First, some muttered word, then, frantic yelling:

"Juvia! Juvia, lightning!"

* * *

_"Let Juvia accompany you," she'd requested, with steeled resolve and interlaced hands hanging in front of her dress. "Please."_

_He'd considered this for ten seconds. The situation tended to change when it was just the two of them, but Juvia had never fell short of excellent on any of their missions—this would be their third. He was in the midst of this thought and halfway to sure, I guess when she turned her doe eyes at him, assuming he needed extra persuasion._

_"It's not just that I would like to go with Gray-sama this time," she remarked, tucking a strand of hair away behind her ear, "although it is probably sixty percent that. Juvia also really needs a job. For rent."_

_She'd jabbed her dainty finger at the reward listed in a way that Gray thought was pretty forward, and he'd paused, peering at the ground (indifferently noticing his pants were not on at the moment.) It wasn't like he could say no to her—ignoring her was usually easier and more effective, but he couldn't do that after being asked outright. He shrugged, and glanced around for his errant pair of jeans. (Was that Natsu holding them? That prick. )_

_"Yeah, okay." He walked straight past her in his haste to retrieve his pants from that pink-haired little shit, and couldn't be bothered to notice the way she lit up, or the way her eyes followed him across the room. (He clocked Natsu in the face.)_

* * *

When she fell, she was drawn into herself, into one tight, aching, burning form, and steam rolled off of her but it _hurt_. She fell, and she was not sure she could expand before she hit the ground. She fell, and she thought that she might hear a dizzying _crack _rather than a _splash_ and she thought most of all that Gray would be upset with her, and that she'd be upset with herself for failing him so utterly. And then she thought, G_ray-sama will definitely, definitely catch me. _

He didn't.

She fell on him.

She thought she heard the air escape him, but there was no crack, for which she was overwhelmingly thankful. She felt limp and useless and agonized, twitching from the aftershocks but desperately trying not to pass out, at least. Gray had made a shield to their side, even though it was useless, she thought, but even her thought-voice was getting dim. He grabbed her when he sat up, cursing, and hauled her over his shoulder like a sack of flour (_not like a princess, _she thought hazily.)

"Hold on," he told her, and she was bouncing because he was running, just barely dodging a strike of thunder, and Juvia shut her eyes at the light pounding in her head. They were still closed when they started moving—Gray had iced over a section of the downhill incline, and Juvia grasped onto him tightly as soon as she realized they were slipping down on it, gliding over the ice, making an escape. She felt woozy, and the burn hadn't quite gone away, and the shame hadn't quite gone away.

* * *

He treaded heavy, and the wet leaves crackled under each enduring step. The air was crisp and wet, thanks to the conspicuous overhang of rain clouds.

"_Those aren't my fault," _Juvia had said, and gripped his shoulders firmer.

"_Nobody said it was_," he'd responded, with enough of an edge to quiet her down for the moment.

She'd grown her hair out again. It trailed against his bare back and bounced when he hefted her up into a better position. She wasn't heavy, but for the time being, the rain woman was dead weight. He couldn't help but feel vaguely responsible, although, firstly, it was that nasty thief's cowardly doing, not his, and _secondly_, Juvia didn't seem to mind the injury at all.

She breathed warm air on the back of his neck and settled like she was sleeping—he could swear he felt her nuzzle her cheek against his shoulder, which was alarming, but not enough to stir him from his foul mood. He continued to kick through cumbersome undergrowth, eyes out for an apt place to set up camp.

It was quiet in the woods and Gray was dissatisfied and Gray was tense and Gray wanted to sink his fist through a tree, but Juvia draped herself over him with amorous ease and shifted so her chin rested over his shoulder. She seemed at peace like that. He grunted.

"Thank you," she murmured, "Gray-sama." There was a slow movement that definitely approximated a hug, and Gray had to tack 'uneasiness' onto his current emotional catalog. He couldn't quite bring himself to be annoyed with her, though, so he was not so cutting-curt when he responded with, "Did you get hit just so I'd carry you?"

He was sure he'd forced the distaste and sharpness from his tone, and rather spoke with some detached curiosity, but there was a beat of still silence before Juvia sagged against him more.

"No. Juvia is not that crazy," she said emphatically.

Then Gray felt like a grade A asshole for even asking to begin with, but he still had his doubts about that.

* * *

Maybe I'll come back and rewrite this but I wanted to post it tonight. I think I was not restraining my wordiness and I wonder if it made it hard to read? Were the descriptions of actions and locations incomprehensible? Were the characters in character? (Next chapter will have more characterizing, I think~ ) I just really wanted to do Juvia and Gray on a mission, because they've totally fought together before, and they have this team dynamic of Gray calling the shots and Juvia following them right away because she loves him, but her love for him can also cause her to be a wildcard. Also their being alone together, and the attitudes they adopt when they're on a job. And so I have plans, I guess? ahhh I wish this came out better.


	2. Chapter 2

Verona leaned her cheek against the wall, trying to cool down. She was at something of a loss— Salamander's failure to take what was surely an appealing quest was a real disappointment. Now she wasn't sure how to make big money… the boy in front of her shivered, and she realized she'd been glaring right through him. It seemed she had also failed to temper the chills rolling off of her, and the entire room temperature had noticeably dropped. She crossed her arms, trying to ease it back to normal—understandably, the thief had been having trouble with her restraint and control again.

The thought left a sad, sour taste in her mouth. She had to think of something fast.

It did seem like there was an upside, though, just maybe, if her lucky stars were turning tides. "Ross," she said sharply, addressing the boy in front of her—he snapped to attention, willing himself to stop quivering. Noting this, Verona gave some cursory effort to quell the chills in the room, but gave up. "That guy—" she gestured vaguely, "that guy, the ice mage. He had the Fairy Tail insignia."

"He did?"

"Yeah." She prodded Ross in the chest, and picked up hope as she began to speak. "Right there. I saw it when he took off his shirt. So maybe we can do something, after all! He was perfectly fine picking on our comrades, but against someone with magic like mine he probably won't stand a chance." Whatever ice sculptures he could raise, she could crush them with ease- she was convinced already.

"So then…"

"Yeah! Well, we'll see. Go to town, and figure out what you can about him, alright? We'll get through this yet."

Ross nodded, slowly, and rose from his seat—it tipped and clattered as he ran for the door. He knew time was as much a factor as anything, but Verona paused him again with an afterthought.

"Don't forget to pick up some meat, too."

Oh, right, Ross noted with his characteristic steadiness. For the wolves.

* * *

Juvia's body still ached, but it wasn't sharp and scalding anymore—it was a dull pain, thudding in waves to the tune of her heart beat. She'd tried not to feel so bad, because Gray was without injury. Well, save for the injury to his pride. Gray-sama took his pride very seriously, so that was grave, and Juvia felt sad for it even as her body reached its limit. If she remembered correctly—the scene was vague excepting the very vivid strikes of pain and the feel of Gray's bare back. She'd counted the scars and fell asleep.

_Gray-sama has about forty scars on his back. _

She wanted to know why; she was resolute in the opinion that the stories behind them would only make her love him more and more and more.

Juvia woke up slowly, reluctant and remembering their unsightly retreat. At the periphery of her consciousness, she couldn't hear Gray or anything at all, and she took it as a sign that she should only rest more. But then she thought she ought to talk to Gray about the next course of action, and maybe about _where were they, anyway._

She opened her eyes. It was cold, but she didn't see the sky. She sat up quickly, even though it made her head throb in protest, and peered around. A hut of ice. She felt herself smiling at Gray's care, but she couldn't help but frown upon finding no other trace of him.

When she turned, she noticed a bundle of clothes, too—Gray's clothes, which she'd used as a pillow. His thoughtfulness made her heart leap, even though he would have done the same for any of his _nakama. _It wasn't special, Juvia decided, but it was still wonderful. Gray-sama was too wonderful. She gathered the clothes up in her arms, hugging them tight, and was pleased to know she could still stand only expending some effort. Now to find Gray.

Her skin was still tender, but she was convinced that the best method of healing was to walk on her own two feet. It sapped her energy and left her stumbling, but it didn't hurt so much as frustrate. She wasn't sure how to be of use to Gray when her body was being uncooperative.

Moreover, there was no exit.

* * *

It had been easy for Gray to learn not to worry. Worrying was not part of his nature, and the lack of fretting allowed him to actually get things done. Guild mages were not nearly as fragile as his home town had been. They'd already proved that in full.

Even though Juvia was injured, she was still a force to be reckoned with, and he'd taken the extra measure of giving her shelter no entrances. It was probably somewhat inconspicuous, too—well, he wasn't so great at discreetness. In any case, he wasn't worried about her.

But his mind kept looping back, even as he padded up the hillside. He hoped he hadn't gone and done a stupid thing like lose track of where he was headed—maybe he should have marked the trees? God damn it. He was in a rush, here.

It was peculiar, but Juvia took on a different attitude when they were out on a job. She was a lot more solemn, rigidly focused—still prone to bouts of strange behavior and emotional distress, but less frequently and less intensely. He appreciated that, and thought maybe he shouldn't have been so dismissive. Not that he'd go so far as to apologize for a minor offense; Juvia must have known he accepted her as important nakama, which he _did. _She just happened to freak him out a little.

On missions like this, she was harder to ignore. When no one else was around, and the bustle of their guild was not roaring in their ears, he couldn't turn away from her so easily, couldn't pretend not to notice some of the things she did. Luckily, she wasn't so clingy out here. But that probably didn't lessen her devotion. God, that girl was zealous. It was weird to see her face as soon as his shield had burst; something had clicked in one hot, dangerous moment, and her reaction was a little crazy—all rapid downpour and whirling ruin.

Yeah, Juvia was insane. Courageous, too. And gentle—she was saccharine sweet as soon as she was leaning on him, as soon as they were both safe and sound. She really was a Fairy Tail mage.

Which, he supposed, made it all the more infuriating that the two of them had been bested like that.

He rolled his shoulders back as he approached the ice encasement, pleased to see it _was _skillfully hidden. No signs of its being found—he could just see the top poking through the treetops. He'd been away for about four hours or so, and hoped that Juvia slept through his absence up to now.

But when he carved out a door straight through the thick ice, the first thing he saw was Juvia, up and steaming in his jacket. She was walking around, though not without difficulty—that much was clear. When she turned to look at him, she brightened up. "Welcome home, Gray-sama," she chirped, in some gross parody of domestic life that made Gray grimace. He wasn't sure, but he thought her happiness made the steaming a little more intense.

God, she was weird.

"Hey. You should be sitting down." He took a step towards her—was she wobbling? Ah, no. Shivering. Which would explain the steam—he frowned. "And maybe stop shrinking my jacket and getting it all—wet with your-?"

"Is Gray-sama going to wear this jacket?" Juvia asked, ignoring his first advice.

"OK, you caught me. Probably not. You got cold?" A glance behind her revealed that she'd also folded all the other clothes he left behind, neatly stacked in the corner.

"Yes. I hope it was not rude of Juvia to…"

"No, I don't care. But seriously, sit down."

"Juvia doesn't have to," she said haltingly, watching his face. "Juvia is fine. Where did you go?"

Gray rubbed at his arm, sighed. "To the nearest town. I sent a message back that the quest would take longer than I thought, and also—"

She looked troubled, then, eyes wide—she took an unsteady step forward, frowning intently at him. "No, please—don't tell me you are planning to send Juvia back! I said, Juvia is fine, I meant it—I can handle this, I am—" Her desperation to stay unnerved him.

"Juvia, relax," he said, settling his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. She looked as though she might cry—

"Juvia is sorry," she murmured, wilting under his touch. He drew back in one swift jerk, eying her carefully, as though she was a dam about to crack.

"Don't be," he said, uncertainly. "You can stay, no problem. It's not your fault that bitch turned out to be a lightning mage."

She loosened up minutely. "Really? Gray-sama, you are truly too kind." And then she was blossoming like a flower again, to his strange and visceral relief.

"Uh, yeah? If you say so." He mumbled. "But listen. Juvia. I mean you have to stay _here_, do you understand?"

The mood swing came again, and she drooped, eyes downcast. She mumbled, too. "I do not wish to argue with Gray-sama, but _no. _I do not like the idea of your going out by yourself. She is not that strong-" She looked indignant, then, contesting the genuine ability of the person who had incapacitated her with one hit. She saw him eying her and misunderstood, insisting as she waved her arms around. "She is not that strong! She just took Juvia by surprise!"

"I believe you. So if she's not that strong, then I should be able to—"

"We are a team," she said. "Where Gray-sama goes, Juvia follows."

He didn't know how to respond to that. At the moment it was more of a nuisance than a boon, but he was not in the mood to argue with her either. He seemed to be brooding on a plan, and lowered his eyes, done with looking at her. She tried to be reassuring, though for Juvia, it never came easy.

"It is just one thief," she continued.

"I'm not doubting your ability," he groused, at length, "But you know as well as I do that your body—"

"Juvia's body is made of water."

"Yeah, exactly. So you can't—"

"I will."

"It's not like I'm in danger," he said, exasperated. "I'm pretty sure she had some grudge with Natsu. Not that it matters—Actually, I asked around about her in town, but I didn't get anything." She still seemed stuck on the idea of his safety, but Gray tried to steer the conversation away from it. He'd never met anyone as overbearing as Juvia, either. "I guess she's new around here. Which would explain why she wasn't mentioned on the work notice at all, but…

Man, no wonder why the job paid so much. This might be a pain." He sighed, smoothing his hair back. He seemed disappointed, so Juvia couldn't stay quiet any longer. She shrugged his jacket in, gripping the cloth tight, suddenly impassioned.

"Fairy Tail wizards never lose to the same person twice," she stated, and felt self-conscious when he raised his eyes to look at her, really look at her. She stared back for a moment, if only to take in the view of his eyes, then averted her gaze before she could _melt. _

"Yes," Gray said slowly. "That's right."

She shifted uncomfortably under his searching, wondering look—it was enigmatic and new and a tiny thrill, and she was glad for it but it jumbled up her insides. "So?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, rocking back on his heels—he even flashed her a smile, and then she did melt. "So tomorrow, we will definitely go take her on again, and we will definitely win." He emphasized _we_, and it put her fretting to rest. "Until then, you should catch up on your rest, huh?"

Gray almost, almost, almost felt bad, but the decision had been too easy.

* * *

I'm sorry this chapter is kind of boring! Chapter 3 will come tomorrow 0: I wanted to post them at the same time, but I decided I'd rather put /something/ up tonight even though it was kind of disappointing. I'm actually kind of disappointed with this story because I think that it would have been better ~ in comic form ~ since I can't write long action-based, adventure-based stories well (but I wanted to try!) Anyway, this story will have two more chapters, and then a companion piece written for Gruvia week that will be basically way better uwu But thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

It was early light, and the sky was his namesake, and the forest was unnavigable. He didn't mind the cold, but the fog was impeding his progress—no, more like it was preventing any progress entirely. All this, and Gray knew there was also the time factor, mostly because he wanted to have his hands washed of this mission before Juvia even woke up again.

He'd thought about it, but it wasn't like it was a snap decision—Juvia really would be better off safe and sound, away from someone who could do her real harm when she was already wounded. She would be sad, but honestly, he doubted her ability to be _angry _with him, and felt a little seedy for taking advantage of that inability, even if it was for her own good. Before heading out, he'd taken one cautious look at her, tranquil in her sleep, and decided that giving her the time to sleep off her injuries while he completed the quest was not only smart, it was considerate. Gray trusted his own judgment.

But the fog was gonna make him _lose it_.

His sense of direction was already piss poor, added onto mildly groggy morning hours and the fact that he couldn't see anything beyond a few yards? Gray's one saving grace was the thought of successfully locating the thief base of operations, pummeling their sorry asses, and dragging both Juvia and their immensely satisfying bags of money back home.

He marched with purpose in the general direction of their last showdown, that towering rock wall—he stepped over the underbrush, and sagely observed the ground for any errant hands. He was almost sure that their hideout had to be somewhere in the caves around the area, and he only had to smoke them out. As for the lightning-woman, he would freeze her to the ground, bind her troubling arms with coarse ice 'til she couldn't sling thunder any longer. These sorts of problems were easy to solve. Juvia would see, and she would understand, and she would worry less.

In the clearing, he stopped. At least, he thought it was the right clearing, but it might have been another spot near the rock ridges—he took a moment to orient himself, growing agitated as he shoved his hands into his pockets and searched the area for something familiar. He squinted into the fog. Birds scattered from the tree tops. He felt another presence, and thought he heard a sound. Awareness pulsed through his body, and at once, Gray stood sturdy, fist-to-palm. Just in case.

The wind was outrageous, then. It felt like it was cutting through him—it blew all of the fog away within moments, and as he shielded his eyes, Gray felt his clothes whip around his body, felt his front take the brunt of the gusts. It was definitely magic. "Again?" he grunted, getting tired of not knowing what to expect.

Before he could even open his eyes, he heard feet pounding in his direction, unmistakable over the whistle of the wind. He wasted no time in slamming his hand against the ground, creating an ice floor that curved around the trees and, by the sounds of surprised shouts in his ears, left no man standing. Both the wind and the ice floor were too much for the thieves—but even Gray was struggling to hold his position, and moving forward didn't seem to be an option either. He opened his eyes, trying to spot the source of the wind magic, and caught a bleary glimpse of the white-haired woman from yesterday. It was her—it was definitely her. So not just lightning, but also…

Wind, and fog?

Having been spotted, the woman turned her arm towards him, and he crashed on his side when he just barely dodged a small tornado. Yeah, she was definitely the reason why the job was paying so much: he had a full-fledged weather witch to deal with.

"Where's your friend?" she asked over the uproarious sound of the wind. He ignored her, not planning on thinking about Juvia at all, especially with the mage responsible for her injuries right in front of him.

"You could have come let me find you!" he shouted back instead, but the gales had suddenly subsided. Savagely, he brushed his hair aside and righted himself, trying to take in everything about the enemy that he could. She was graceful on his ice, though firmly planted in one place, and younger than he'd thought, despite the white hair. That didn't even warrant consideration; he was still going to wipe the floor with her.

"A master strategist like me sets traps! I wouldn't let you come traipsing anywhere near me so easy, Ice Boy!" She shouted back, voice alight—he wondered if she was gathering energy for another strike, and bent to raise ice from under her. She moved back swiftly, out of the target area, and sent another gust of wind at him instead—he wobbled, but maintained balance, inhaling deeply now.

"Master strategist my ass," he growled. "You're just usin' cheap tricks—surprise attacks, ambushes—"

She moved to attack again, but halted when he continued. "You want Natsu the Dragon Slayer, don't you?"

And before she could respond either way, he pressed on with a scoff on the end of his words. "Something like fog covers—Natsu would sniff you guys out like a dog within seconds, you know." It felt a little better to not know his enemy when the enemy was pretty ignorant herself. She clicked her tongue at him, and he pounded his fist flat against his open hand, but she called out to him, her voice hard.

"Will he come if we hold a friend hostage?"

He didn't like the implications of that question.

"Don't think you could!" he called back, bursting with bravado between heavy breaths. "A Fairy Tail wizard never loses to the same person twice. Ice Lance!"

Gray was holding his own, trying to get close enough to sure-freeze her feet still. As a moving target, the woman posed a problem. Her strategy became clear to him quite quickly, but it didn't make it any more simple to avoid, only a lot more pressing not to make any mistakes. She'd try to get him off his toes with some wide-sweeping wind blasts, then try to strike him down with lightning when he couldn't move out of the way. She moved like she had everything to lose, too.

They were at an impasse, just trying to outlast each other's capability to fight. The second thing Gray noticed was her mounting desperation; at first, her strikes were precise and controlled, but as time passed, she lashed out with more and more wildness, all loose motion and large, dangerous attacks. At one point, Gray had to rush double-time to move one of the fallen thieves out of the way of a lightning strike—she'd taken some time to catch her breath then, and made a point of only aiming for Gray specifically from then on.

The two-person battle was stretching on and on, and Gray's endurance, formidable as it was, was wearing thin. It was time for the decisive strike—he felt he'd worn down the enemy enough, and felt as though his legs were about to give way. He lifted an ice shield to his front and bustled to form a bow and arrow as the woman hurled her hand back and threw another terrifying lightning strike at him. His shield burst, and Gray gripped his weapon 'til his knuckles went white, wheeling around to aim.

In his blind spot, a flash.

Fuck.

Except that the burn never came; the light scalded his eyes and the heat charged his air space, but there was no impact even though his legs hadn't reacted. It wasn't him.

"Gray-sama!" Borderline tearful. Oh, he'd know that voice anywhere. Her arms were still tight around his waist—he was actually a little surprised she'd been able to heave him backwards with just her dainty bitty arms. But more urgently—

"Juvia, I told you—!"

Unsteady as they were, the wind knocked them on their backs. He scrambled to shield her, sure that he could take a shock even if she couldn't, but she slipped underneath him, flowing like river currents, and reformed herself in front of him, arms out protectively. He whipped around, unable to pull himself up in the instant it took for Juvia to take his place as the storm woman's opponent.

The woman didn't even remark on the place trade. She sent a gust of wind barreling at Juvia, who very calmly sent a channel of concentrated water barreling right back. The blast actually managed to break through the wind and knock their quarry over. Juvia surged forward grimly just as Gray worked himself to his feet, taking a single harrowed step after her. But she was fast, and closing the distance enough now to whip streaks of water across the thief's body. Juvia's attacks were rapidfire.

She wanted to end this before a second lightning strike. It lit up every nerve ending in his legs, but Gray hastened after her and tried to provide cover. As the newcomer to a lengthy fight, Juvia had the advantage, and she was taking full advantage of it. Gray wondered if she was upset, and somewhat rankled by the prospect of her being upset with him for leaving. She had helped him out, and they were fighting better as a team.

That was it: An ice-water unison raid.

He sprinted to her side. Her hair bounced when she turned to look at him, and they shared a wordless look two-seconds long before the lightning struck. They fell. Most of the clearing had been fried—the attack had been unrestrained, so the power was less concentrated and less harming, was Gray's first coherent thought. His second coherent thought was not so coherent.

Juvia. (_Juvia Juvia Juvia_)

"Fuck." He wasn't even moving his legs and he was still wobbling, and pain was still tearing up his core, and when he blinked his eyes open, the sight scared him more. "Juvia, get up." He bit out, shaky. Usually, that worked wonders, got her rolling and rearing. She remained limp and still, though. A moment passed before he thought to check for her breathing, and it was shallow.

Outside his notice, the bandit woman had hobbled off to their side, her arm raised again, and Gray positioned himself over and in front of his friend straight off the instinct. The woman tilted her head. She was breathing heavy, too.

"I'll make you a deal," she said.

"Go to hell," he said.

"I could kill her," she said, not sounding too pleased about it. Electricity struck the ground a foot away from Gray's side, and trickled over the dirt. "I'll kill her within a second if you don't come quietly."

That wasn't a bluff.

"Won't you kill her anyway if I do?" he asked, clutching Juvia tighter. He racked his head. He couldn't run with Juvia. He couldn't Ice Make too well in his state, and his creations were too easily crushed. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I won't kill her. No—it's your choice, Ice Boy. She dies and I take you anyway, or you come now. Choose." She sounded tired.

He looked at Juvia, setting her down flat. She was still breathing, just knocked out for the time being. He elevated her head and placed her arms at her side, checked for any signs of immediate danger, then looked at the storm woman and nodded. She whistled, and from the other side of the rocks came the other bandits who'd played spectators, a whole lot of them.

"Best behavior, now." The woman said as she led him away from Juvia's unconscious form. He was decidedly silent as they bound up his hands and shoved him forward, leading him towards the rocks. He glanced back at Juvia, hoping she might wake up and prove herself lively and destroy them all at the sight of him in chains, but her body was still, and worse, they were tying her up tight too. He twisted, eyes wide, hating the sight himself. She could slip through chains with ease, he knew, but it made him irrationally angry—the whole abject situation was a mark of shame and worse.

"Just in case she wakes up," the storm woman explained shortly, and Gray begrudgingly accepted, turning forward so as not to deal with the sight. The thief leader fell into step behind him, and the runt came rushing to her side to hold her up—she really was tired, but she brushed him off and limped forward on her own.

Minutes passed like that, Gray thinking so hard that his head hurt as he was led captive through the rocks. At some point, he zeroed in on the woman talking to the boy, and her voice cut through his muddled thoughts.

"That blue-haired woman you saw," she was saying, just above a whisper. "Send the wolves back for her."

"What? No," the boy was saying, "No—" But their words were lost, Gray's head swam with thoughts.

"Ross." The woman said. "Harsh measures. Desperate measures. She could come back. We have to neutralize the threat. We have no time. So, please..."

Gray felt his mouth dry. Juvia could take on wolves no problem, but he wasn't sure how long she'd be out, or what her condition was. She was entirely immobile, and she couldn't slip away as water, could she? He reached his boiling point, the chains jangling noisily as he ripped away from the men at his sides and stepped towards the storm woman. Make magic was hard with his hands tied, but-

"You said you wouldn't kill her—" he was shouting, raving. Juvia was strong, but the image of her being eaten alive was also strong, and hard on Gray's tired mind. The boy took one look at Gray, then ran off in Juvia's direction. Gray struggled harder.

"I said _I _wouldn't," the woman replied with a grimace, and that was when a thick hand dealt a blow to the back of Gray's head. His knees finally gave way.

Everything was black.


	4. Chapter 4

Juvia's body was thrumming with pain. Her vision was swimming—even though she was sure her eyes were shut. It was like falling through heat without being able to quite land anywhere; there was no contact with truly conscious thought, she couldn't find the grounds of reality. A massive headache was rippling through her thought processes, stirring her senses. Ice. Gray. Lightning. Sunshine. Fairy Tail. Gray. Gray. Gray.

Then she only registered one thing: Pain.

She bolted upright. Her flesh was _split, _the wound fresh, gaping and bloodied. She was unsteady, but she took on a watery form and slipped out of her bindings, shifting under the paws of the pack of wild dogs surrounding her. The dogs yipped or growled as she hovered, turning their attentions to her. She redefined her shape as decidedly human, and to the wolves, that meant target. Her skin felt battered, and she leaned over herself as she regained the ability to breathe steady—the sound of jaws snapping did little to soothe the creaking in her muscles. Calling out the tenuous remnants of her power, Juvia struck a storm down in the clearing. The downpour was thorough. It was so easy to call the rain back without a calming presence.

Gray was nowhere to be found. So the clouds gathered again, under her ribs, and weighed her down, weighed down the whole sky. She'd failed Gray. She wasn't sure where he was, if he was alright—

One of the wolves shook off the rain and charged for her. She set her foot back as she turned, sweeping all five yipping creatures up in a waterlock. They writhed in the massive suspension of water, and Juvia watched bubbles flow from their desperate snouts.

The rain washed away the blood seeping down her shoulder, and though it pattered against her aching flesh, it also seemed to alleviate the sharper pains. Most urgent, though—most pressing was the matter of Gray's disappearance. She did not see any tracks or traces. She dropped the wolves onto the mud when they stopped thrashing in the water lock, and turned around. The rain fell harder around her, pushing up mist and chill.

If she had been a second later, she wouldn't have seen him.

It was almost as if she didn't care who it was exactly. Someone, anyone—anyone could have more of a clue about Gray-sama's whereabouts than she did. But shifting in the bushes was one of the thieves, most definitely. He'd probably sicced the wolves on her. She gave chase on her feet before she forced her legs into whirling water again, rising and rising—she was panting, and without thinking, she felled a tree before the escaping thief. He stopped in his tracks, inches from injury, with his path blocked. When he wheeled around to face her, he was terrified. And he was young.

Juvia was not like Gray in this aspect. She had her maternal instincts intact despite other shortcomings. And she was tired. When she found her feet again, when she stood in front of the boy with her hands shaking on his shoulders, she was crying.

He might have misinterpreted it as quaking with rage—her tears and the rain were one, after all—and he froze up, quivering himself. She opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what would come out, but the defenseless boy pleaded first. "Please," he said, trying to find his voice. "Please, don't hurt my friend. She's not—she's not so bad as she seems. She's sorry. She's sorry for what she has to do, I swear— Don't drown us."

"I didn't drown anybody," she murmured. "Juvia doesn't kill."

The boy shut his eyes, as if he was remembering something. "Verona is—was—is the same. Please, don't—"

Juvia's grip on his shoulders tightened as she summoned the strength to ask after Gray. If he was harmed, if he was gone, she wasn't sure what she would do. Since she met him, she'd been unable to imagine a life without his steady presence, without his rare smiles—to have him stolen from her just when they were becoming more and more common and more and more directed at her, it was too cruel. The boy was still backpedaling under his breath, desperate to secure amnesty.

"She is really just doing terrible things to save him—"

When Juvia caught that phrase, her eyes opened, searching. "Save who?"

* * *

Consciousness came slow, and a little too late. Gray's skin smarted as he lifted himself up, only to smack the crown of his head against metal. He opened his eyes, then. The thieves' guild—or at least this room—was unpeopled but full of rustic furniture and posters. He squinted at them. And then he noticed the bars, narrow-set and sturdy. He stared, frowning.

The cage was tiny, and he was practically hogtied, squeezed into it. He felt his dignity smarting, too.

"I thought you said Fairy Tail wizards don't lose to the same person twice," she said, by way of greeting. Gray blew his bangs out of his face, glaring—unable to turn towards the source of the voice, but emanating enough antipathy as he was.

"I wouldn't exactly call your methods 'fair game,'" he said evenly, despite the anger coiling up in his gut. "It's all cheap tricks. Not a real fight." His mind went straight to Juvia, but he didn't dare give voice to his concerns. The woman would only try to strike him down with Juvia's name and her maybe-death. He tried to focus on Juvia's undeniable strength, her insane persistence—he tried to vanish the thought completely. He was not a worrier. Juvia didn't call for it.

"We do what we must," the storm woman was saying. Gray summoned his energy to the tips of his fingers and tried to freeze the binds on his wrists. Simple rope—it would burst easily. The cage, too, if he could just—

His magic didn't come. Nothing even went cold. He shuddered with arrested energy.

"It won't work, just so you know." She came across the room and crouched in front of his face. He could only see her legs and her stomach and the tips of her hair at her sides. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "This is the cage they used for me. It's enchanted to bar the abilities of magic users." She shrugged, and stood up, walking away—again, out of Gray's vision.

"You're so fucked," he said, grasping for her attention. He heard her footsteps pause.

"You think your guild's gonna come for you?" she asked, a trace of hope in her voice. Gray tensed at her weird fixation on that, and shook his head.

"Juvia," he said, solid and absolute.

"That water girl? No. I guess you were somewhat impressive, but she's not very strong."

"Shows what you know. I'm getting sick of your know-it-all attitude," he spat.

"That so?" the white-haired woman laughed a little, a very small, very uncertain sound. Her fluctuations between hesitation and full force were only pissing Gray off. "Quiet 'fore I have you gagged too."

"We're not gonna lose."

"Isn't that delusional? You already have. Quit wasting my time."

"Whaddaya want from Natsu so bad? A fight?" He pressed his face up against the bars, side-eying her with a heavy glare. She set her hands on a table.

"No. I don't like to fight." She said, and it was as honest a statement as Gray had ever heard. It didn't quite change things. "But didn't you know? He's worth a lot in the underworld."

"Is he," Gray gritted, and he was sure he would have felt the edge of competition if not for the other things on his mind. Natsu's being a target for ransom made him want to laugh—like he'd ever get caught for good. Moreover, being used as bait for someone's futile attempts at catching the uncatchable was easier to take from a comic viewpoint rather than one of pride. He wasn't worried.

Gray pressed on a little, contesting her. "So you think you can live loftily on just the money made on his head?"

"No," she said softly. "It will be just enough."

"For what?"

That gave her a lengthy pause, and then she rapped on the cage, making it rattle. It really was an old thing. "You quit trying to draw helpful tell-all truths outta me, Ice Boy. Shouldn't have kept you in here. It was nice of me. Outside, those guys would've been downright nasty to you."

He supposed she meant the other thieves. "Almost rather take that than be stuck inside here with a weasel."

"Mmm. My name is Verona."

"Like it matters."

"I wish we weren't enemies."

"Because you know I could destroy you if you didn't hold people hostage?"

"No. 'Cause you've got heart—and spunk. I like that."

Weirdly, his first thought was that she was being mildly flirtatious, and that Juvia wouldn't like that. Juvia would pound her through a wall. He would have liked to watch.

"I—"

"Stop distracting me." She turned on her heels, going again towards something that was out of his range of sight. If he had to guess, he would wager she was gonna send some contact to Fairy Tail. He felt embarrassed, and angry, but he was not even close to being afraid of her. It was strange. She had an odd disposition with which she did terrible things, something of a shadow on her shoulder. He tumbled a little, making noise.

"Hey, hey, bitch! Whatever you're doing, cut it out. Untie me."

"Why are you even asking that?"

She hadn't moved. She was just idly talking to him as he grumbled.

"You're unforgivable."

"Yes. Can't you keep quiet?"

He didn't have anything to say to that. Part of his noisiness was that silence gave way to thought, and his thoughts strained, carted him to ugly places where pretty blue-haired girls were wolf-meat and Gray Fullbuster was useless Natsu-bait. He certainly felt useless. He was tempted to sleep off the pain, excuse himself from reality for a bit while things were out of his hands. Instead, he focused on trying to bypass the enchantments and use magic, tried to inflate his massive magic power and make use of it. It was a fruitless task, but one that kept him occupied with frustration rather than out-and-out defeat.

But it was tiring, too, and Gray had to fight for the motivation to stay awake. He was nodding off despite the discomfort of his position because he suddenly felt so tired, and so harrowed by the day's events and the coming night's possibilities. But it felt as though sleeping was the worst he could do, a betrayal. Open-eyed and in silence, he'd have to wait. As if it were a test of faith—Juvia had high expectations of him when it came to staying faithful.


	5. Chapter 5

Gray's sense of time was skewed, and he wasn't sure how long he was kept immobile, cheek and chest pressed against the hard metal flooring. There was not really any use in lifting his head, and comfort was not an option no matter how he tossed and turned.

Verona had become serious and silent, doing whatever mysterious thing she was doing that would inevitably become a pain—outside, Gray heard the common bustle of a guild hall (not so loud as Fairy Tail's), and inside, Gray could only hear the heavy thud of his heart and his increasingly perturbing thoughts. He was getting sick of it, and fast.

At first he didn't even notice the screaming. Neither did his captor. The usual noise segued beautifully into actual shouts of terror, and Gray realized this around the same time as Verona stopped what she was doing and stood up. Her chair screeched. The sounds were distant, but Gray could certainly make out the shrieks of distress.

It was easy to see because he was at eye-level with it, but water was leaking into the room from under the door.

"You're in for it now," he said, angling his head as he listened for the sweet sounds of torrential wreckage. A particularly terrified scream rang through the air, piercing the walls. "Oh man. Fucked. What did I tell you."

Ignoring him, Verona stepped towards the door, staring down in shock at the water pooling around her feet. "How did she get here? She's flooding the guild—she's flooding the guild?"

Gray was starting to get wet and a little bit worried that she'd flood the room and he'd drown like dead weight. But more strong was the overwhelming relief, the happiness, the pride. He laughed.

He didn't have to worry about Juvia after all.

Although maybe it was best that Juvia not worry about him so much.

The door broke under the water pressure. Gray cursed, wiggling in his bonds, and to his side the thief master shrieked—the rising water level took up about 1/3 of the whole room, and Gray had to crane his neck to keep his mouth above the surface. He was very much aware of how stupid he looked, and more aware that he wasn't getting a good view of what was going on. Evidently, nobody had been able to hold off Juvia.

She stood in the doorway, wading through the water in her ragged questwear. He thought he glimpsed a wound on her arm, and winced—then Juvia nudged another smaller figure inside. The water sloshed, much like Gray's beleaguered lungs. His helplessness was beginning to grate his pride more and more.

His ears were waterlogged, but he could make out Verona's voice, heavy with shock and anxiety—"Give him back! Ross, I can't believe you even got _caught_-"

"You give me back my Gray-sama first. Where is he?"

Gray almost felt ungrateful for being annoyed with her choice of words. She was so _forceful _when she wanted to be. He tried to steady his voice. "Here. Juvia. Water. God damn it."

"Gray-sama!" She took a joyful step towards him and flinched. So she was in pain—she was probably on the brink of collapse, too. But she seemed to understand, and the water elevation dropped with a wave of her hand. Gray resettled more comfortably (as comfortably as he could get) and heaved a sigh of great relief. Meanwhile, Juvia turned her eyes on Verona, gripping the boy's shoulder.

"A prisoner exchange," she said, with that same force.

"You didn't hurt him, did you?" Verona asked.

"No. Juvia did not even tie him up. Juvia didn't cage him." Gray let his forehead droop against the cage floor at that. Damn, it was embarrassing, especially since Juvia was always putting him on a pedestal. But perhaps it would also be good if she stopped doing that—still, this wasn't exactly the way he saw this mission going.

Verona was staring Juvia down. Her expression wavered, her hands fisted at her sides. Wind started to whistle through the room with no direction or source.

"Prisoner exchange," Juvia repeated calmly. The boy next to her was cowering; Gray could see his legs quaking.

The whole room—the whole guild hall—was soaking wet. If Verona wanted to use a lightning strike, it could quite possibly hit her, her friend, and her unconscious thieves. It could kill them.

They were in the midst of a standoff. Rather than the cold, the tension of the impasse had Verona shaking, too.

"You couldn't possibly understand—" she spat out, and Juvia's face hardened. Gray hadn't really seen that expression on her before.

"Release Gray-sama," she said, and she sounded every bit the wrathful sea goddess she was constantly taken for. Gray didn't know how to feel about that. But he was definitely feeling something.

"Please," Ross said quietly. He could barely be heard over the wind.

Without a word, the brooding storm woman applied her magic. The cage opened, and Juvia, stringing the boy along behind her, strode forward through the water and pulled Gray out none-too-gently. He fell with a huff. She sliced his bonds and he paused on the floor—his numb muscles felt like they were gasping for breath, too.

The first thing he did was freeze Verona's feet solid to the flooded floor. As he stood up, he wanted to make eye contact with her to gloat a little bit, to reassert his ability and point out her short-comings, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the wall. Shaking. Crying.

He looked incredulously at Juvia, but Juvia was fixed on their enemy's expression, her face warped with sympathy. She looked as though she might cry too. "Don't, Gray-sama," she murmured, and wiped savagely at her eye.

This was really not how he'd expected the quest to go at all.

"Juvia has a solution." She let go of Ross, who stilled for a moment before running to his friend's side. "Juvia will not let you two suffer like this any longer."

"What are you talking about?" Gray cut in. She looked right at him, pursing her lips.

"Gray-sama and Juvia are going to give the quest prize offered by the merchant guild to them," she said without a trace of apology. The way she said it made it as sure as law. He furrowed his eyebrows at her—in the periphery, the thieves were bewildered, gaping. "All of it."

"What the hell, why?"

"They need the money," she responded sorrowfully. "Juvia will pay you back."

"That's not it!" Gray said hotly. "She tried to kill you! And we've already pretty much caught them."

That was the principle that stuck him up—losing the money for rent was an issue he might be able to fix on his own, and Gray was leagues from greedy. But giving someone like this the money—he looked at her angrily, and she glared back, but it was hard to ignore the tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, and she captured you and took you away from me. I was… very angry." Juvia stated, fingering at the hem of her dress. She was looking down, troubled either by her anger or the fact that she was directly opposing him.

"But please understand, Gray-sama. I know you will." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it began to pick up with fortitude as she continued. She raised her eyes to stare at him dead-on, somewhere between pleading and outright telling. They were more sure than he'd ever seen them, but filled with the same kindness that she showed every day.

"She did not do those bad things for her—she did them for love—" she shot Verona a significant look. "Right?"

Mutely, Verona nodded.

Juvia continued, reaching out to steady Gray's arm. Her stare was significant, then, too, and Gray looked away fast. "For the man that stole the rain."

"Huh?" he asked, not comprehending.

"That boy's brother. The person who helped her to not—to not make storms all the time. The person who calmed her and helped her to control her powers. The person who gave her a home and a family and much kindness, isn't that right?"

The thief girl's cool front had crumpled. She nodded vivaciously, wiping at the tears flowing down her face. She had no volume control like this.

"But—but that no-good goddamn council might—might have him executed by the end of the week—if I don't—I thought—we thought we could pay them off with enough money—"

Juvia brushed past Gray and knelt at the woman's side, holding her hand and looking up at her with soft, knowing eyes. "Someone who would do anything for love is—very scary—but I understand."

"Do you?" Gray looked at them. Something was nagging in his head, and he tapped Juvia on the shoulder, soft and slow and with a sort of urgent curiosity. "Would you do anything—kill someone, even—for someone you love?"

Juvia did not face him, and she was very quiet.

"Juvia might bear that sin if there was reason to. If the person—if the person who stole the rain, if he was in immediate danger, if there was no other way, Juvia would, maybe…"

Gray didn't know what to think about that at all. He swallowed thickly, backpedaling to safe ground. "But—"

"There were other ways in this case," Juvia pressed on, not addressing him anymore. "But Juvia understands desperation, too. So that's why… please let us vanquish this thieves' guild, take the money, and save your love!"

She was so passionate. Gray sat on the ground with a light splash resounding all around him, and waved his hand dismissively at the two teary-eyed girls (and the teary-eyed boy.) "If this guy sealed away your darkness—and if you really won't do anything nasty anymore—then sure. Take the money." He rested his cheek on his palm, took deep breath and was more than ready to wait for Juvia to cry out her feelings for another ten minutes.

When she whipped her head around to smile at him, soaked strands of hair falling around her face, Gray thought it was possibly the most brilliant thing he'd ever seen.

* * *

"If it makes Gray-sama feel better, you can tell everyone that you saved me."

She was leaning on him—they were both limping, though, and the last few hours of walking had been torturous. He'd offered to carry her, but she was sensitive to his injury, too.

At least, he supposed, they weren't weighed down by the promised bags of money.

"I did! I did save you!" He said, frowning at her. She giggled and pressed her cheek against his arm and he grunted with frustration but didn't move. At least they'd reached the outskirts of Magnolia. Fairy Tail and rest awaited them.

Ah.

And the issue of rent.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and he snapped back to attention, wondering if he'd been making a weird face. He shook his head.

"Just. Wondering how I'm gonna pay for my apartment this month."

She held his gaze for a moment, then promptly drooped, forlorn and downcast at the drop of a dime. "Juvia too…" she said sadly, and Gray realized he'd thoughtlessly reminded her of her problem. She hadn't been thinking about it at all, had she?

"I still don't regret my decision, but…" she shuffled her feet back and forth, biting her lip. "But Juvia is sorry!"

"No," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "It was my decision, too. And I also don't regret it."

She beamed at him again. He wondered when she'd become so radiant.

Seeing that she was content to just smile at him, then, he cleared his throat and continued. "I wonder if Cana and Erza would lend me money?" A pause. "No, I think I'd rather die than see their disappointed looks. They'd hold it against me forever."

They walked a few more steps like that, ruminating in their mutual problem.

It was Juvia who had the idea.

She halted, and Gray halted with her, glancing at her with a question on his lips. He was about to ask, but was perplexed by the imploring look she was giving him. Sometimes he was glad that she seemed given to nonverbal communication, and sometimes it was just a puzzle.

"I wonder how Gray-sama feels about cohabitation?" she said slowly.

Misunderstanding deliberately, he said, "Oh, right. You could live with Lucy!"

"Lucy-san likes her privacy," she said, stubborn.

"Gray also likes his privacy." he said, staring. She was unwilling to push any further, and nodded sadly. To be shot down so quickly!

In the ensuing silence, his mind wandered. Despite his attempts to banish the thought, he was considering the idea. They'd begun walking again, but not minutes after the first stop, Gray stopped her with a resounding sigh.

"We," he said.

"Yes?"

"We could make rent. If we shared an apartment. Couldn't we?" He shut his eyes tight, not wanting to see whatever freakish reaction she had. It was only a matter of helping out a friend and being fiscally responsible at the same time. He could justify it, he really could, it wasn't salacious, why did everyone always think he was salacious—

She was surprisingly steady with her voice, her hand perched over his. She was careful with her words, too, careful not to misunderstand or jump to conclusions, careful to wrench the satisfying, sweet words right out of him again.

"You are saying that you wish to move in with Juvia?"

He grimaced. "No. You could move in with me and we could pay my rent between the two of us. Only until you get enough money to get your own place again!"

"You want me to live with you?"

"Juvia, this isn't a goddamn proposal. I just—"

She was crushing him with this hug. Brilliant, brilliant. He dared not look.

"Yes! A thousand times yes!" She sure was taking it as a proposal. "My dear friend! I'll move everything in right now!"

"Uh," Gray said, momentarily speechless. What was he doing. "Alright?"

Since he was shell shocked by his own proposition, Juvia stepped away from him and started marching off along the canal. His eyes trailed her, and he frowned, stepping after her.

"Juvia? Where are you—"

"To your apartment," she replied breezily. He could just imagine the ear-to-ear grin on her face, and felt a little strange.

"But you don't know where I live—"

"Yes. I do." She said.

She didn't stop walking. But he could see the tinge of blush biting at the edges of her cheeks, and his face was suddenly a little hot, too. The implications of this were maddening. Her fingers closed around his as she led him off like cattle.

At least she was honest about it. There existed creepier stalkers. Less gorgeous stalkers, too.

"Fuck. Okay."


End file.
